Poker Hands and Poker Hands ranking & Poker Hands Probabilities
Poker Hands and Poker Hands ranking & Poker Hands Probabilities
Making quick decisions while Poker can be quite a challenge. Not only do you have to make decisions like whether to call,bet,raise or fold, depending on your hand and making a guess whether your poker hand is strong enough to fetch you a win.
Wouldn’t it be great if you had some data that could help you make the right decision? That is exactly why we have written this guide on poker hand rankings and poker hand probabilities.
This guide will give you an idea which hands are stronger, how to form these hands, the probabilities of getting each hand in both standard 5 card poker and Texas Hold em Poker that could give you an edge while making those crucial decisions.
You’ll be reading about poker hand rankings and which hand beats which hand.Most of the time when you see hand rankings you see them displayed for all forms of high card poker rather than what you’re really interested in seeing which is Texas Hold’em.
But what they aren’t showing you is just the hand rankings for poker. They’re showing you the hand rankings as if it’s for a five-card draw, the game where you see people on TV playing with five cards in front of them like this the old version of Poker.
These days it’s all Texas Hold’em style of Poker. So, in Texas Hold’em each player has two down hole cards or your cards that are specifically only for you. Apart from that you have five cards which are also called community cards.
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So now without further let’s check out all the Poker Hands in order of their ranking based on strongest poker hands to weakest poker hands…
Poker Hands and Poker Hands ranking & Poker Hands Probabilities for Texas Holdem Poker
In the table below the term “frequency” refers to the number of ways you can form a particular hand and the term “cumulative probability” refers to the probability that your opponent has of having the same poker hand or a stronger poker hand
| Rank | Poker Hand | Frequency | Probability in Texas Holdem Poker | Cumulative probability in Texas Holdem Poker | Odds in Texas Holdem Poker |
| 1 | Royal Flush | 4324 | 0.0032% | 0.0032% | 30,939 to 1 |
| 2 | Straight Flush | 37260 | 0.0279% | 0.0311% | 3,590 to 1 |
| 3 | Four of a Kind | 224,848 | 0.168% | 0.199% | 594 to 1 |
| 4 | Full House | 3,473,184 | 2.60% | 2.80% | 36 to 1 |
| 5 | Flush | 4,047,644 | 3.03% | 5.82% | 32 to 1 |
| 6 | Straight | 6,180,020 | 4.62% | 10.4% | 21 to 1 |
| 7 | Three of a Kind | 6,461,620 | 4.83% | 15.3% | 20 to 1 |
| 8 | Two Pair | 31,433,400 | 23.5% | 38.8% | 3 to 1 |
| 9 | One Pair | 58,627,800 | 43.8% | 82.6% | 1.27 to 1 |
| 10 | High Card | 23,294,460 | 17.4% | 100% | 5 to 1 |
Poker Hands and Poker Hands ranking & Poker Hands Probabilities in 5 Card Poker
| Rank | Poker Hand | Frequency | Probability in 5 card poker | Cumulative probability in 5 card poker | Odds in 5 card poker |
| 1 | Royal Flush | 4 | 0.000154% | 0.000154% | 649,739 : 1 |
| 2 | Straight Flush | 36 | 0.00139% | 0.0015% | 72,192 : 1 |
| 3 | Four of a Kind | 624 | 0.0240% | 0.0256% | 4,165 : 1 |
| 4 | Full House | 3,744 | 0.1441% | 0.17% | 693.17 : 1 |
| 5 | Flush | 5,108 | 0.1965% | 0.367% | 508.8 : 1 |
| 6 | Straight | 10,200 | 0.3925% | 0.76% | 253.8 : 1 |
| 7 | Three of a Kind | 54,912 | 2.1128% | 2.87% | 46.33 : 1 |
| 8 | Two Pair | 123,552 | 4.7539% | 7.62% | 20.0 : 1 |
| 9 | One Pair | 1,098,240 | 42.2569% | 49.9% | 1.366 : 1 |
| 10 | High Card | 1,302,540 | 50.1177% | 100% | 0.995 : 1 |
#1 Royal Flush in Poker
The best five card hand possible is a royal flush, which is not only cards in order 10 ,Jack, Queen ,King, Ace but also cards of the same exact suit. The royal flush is the best hand possible in Texas Hold’em Poker.
As for royal flushes, you really don’t need to think about it because it almost never happens. The probability of getting a royal flush in 5 card poker is 0.000154% or 649,739 to 1 and the probability of getting a royal flush in Texas HoldEm Poker is 0.0032% or 30,399 : 1.
There are four ways you can form a Royal Flush in five card Poker.
As you can see in the image below, all the cards are of the same suit and in the order described above to form a royal flush.
#2 Straight Flush
The next best possible hand is a straight flush.
A straight flush is a hand which has five cards of sequential rank and also all of the same suit. For example let’s consider a hand that consists of a Jack of hearts,10 of hearts,9 of hearts, 8 of hearts and 7 of hearts.
When trying to look for a flush you should always start the sequence from the highest card to the lowest card in the hand.
The probability of being dealt a straight flush in Texas HoldEm Poker is 0.0279% or 3,590 : 1 while the probability of being dealt a straight flush in five card Poker.
There are 36 ways to form a straight flush in 5 card Poker.
#3 Four of a kind
After a royal flush and a straight flush the next best hand is four of a kind also known as quads, is when you have 4 cards with the same rank or score and 1 card that has another score. This card is also called the “kicker”.
There are 624 ways to form a four of a kind in 5 card Poker. The probability that you will be dealt a four of a kind in 5 card Poker is 0.0240% or 4,165 : 1.
The probability that you will be dealt a four of a kind in Texas HoldEm Poker is 0.168% or 594 to 1.
#4 Full house
The next best hand is a full house which is a three of a kind along with a pair. In a full house you will have 3 cards with the same score (or rank) and 2 cards with another score(rank).
The probability of getting a full house in poker hand in five-card poker is 0.1441% or 693.17 : 1. There are 3,744 ways to form a Full House in 5 card Poker.
The probability of you being dealt a full house in Texas HoldEm Poker is 2.60% or 36 to 1. There is a 2.80% chance that your opponent would have at least a full house or a better ranking poker hand if you have a full house in Texas HoldEm Poker.
However, in 5 card poker there is a less than 1% probability (0.17% to be exact) that your opponent would have a full house or a better hand than a full house.
#4 Flush
After a full house is a flush. A flush in poker is five cards that are all of the same suit in this case but are in a random order. The probability of getting a flush in 5 card poker is 0.1965% or 508.8 : 1.
There are 5,108 of getting a full house in 5 card poker.
In Texas HoldEm Poker the probability of someone getting a Flush is 3.03% or 32 to 1. The probability that an opponent has a flush or a stronger poker hand is 5.82%
#5 Straight
After flushes our straights.A straight is just like a straight flush but the difference between a straight flush and straight in poker is that in a straight flush, all the cards are of the same suit whereas in a straight at least one of the cards is from a different suit.
The probability that of you getting a straight in 5 card poker is 0.3925% or 253.8 : 1. There are 10,200 ways to form a straight in a game of 5 card poker.
The probability that you will land a straight in a game of Texas HoldEm Poker is 4.62% or about 21 to 1. The chances of your opponent having at least a straight or a stronger poker hand is approximately 1 in 10 or 10.4%.
Watch out for rule variations while playing Poker.
According to the standard rules in 5 card poker and Texas Hold Em, An Ace can count as both the highest and the lowest card and help you form poker hands accordingly. This means you can either have a high scoring straight flush by forming an Ace,King,Queen,Jack and a 10 of the same suit or a low scoring straight with an Ace,2,3,4,5 of the same suit.
If you have a low scoring straight flush and the opponent has a high scoring straight flush you would lose.
#5 Three of a kind
The next best hand is three of a kind. In this poker hand you have 3 cards of the same rank or number and the other 2 are completely different. A three of a kind is similar to a full house and beginners often confuse these two poker hands.
An easy way to distinguish between a three of a kind and a full house is that in a full house the other two cards form a pair with the same rank and an in a three of a kind the two cards are completely different.
The probability of you getting a three of a kind in 5 card poker is 2.1128% or 46.33 : 1.There are 54,912 ways to form a three of a kind in 5 card poker.
The probability of getting a three of a kind in Texas Hold em Poker is 4.83% or 20 to 1. The probability of your opponent having a three of a kind or a stronger poker hand at this point is approximately 15%.
#6 Two pair
The next poker hand and the second weakest poker hand is a two pair. A two pair is a hand that contains two cards of one rank, two cards of another rank, and one card of a third rank. For example in the image below we can see 1 pair of aces and 1 pair of queens.
Making a poker hand with the hole cards to make two pairs is much stronger than to pair with the community cards.
The probability of being dealt a two pair in poker is 4.7539% or 20 to 1. There are 123,552 ways to form a two pair poker hand in poker.
The probability of being dealt a two pair in Texas Holdem is 23.5% or 3 to 1.There is a 38.8% probability that an opponent might have a two pair or a stronger poker hand than you if you have a two pair.
#7 One pair
This poker hand is the second weakest poker hand. One pair consists of 2 cards of the same number or rank and 3 completely different cards.Let’s say for example you have a hand with a Queen of hearts,2 of diamonds,2 of clubs, ace of spades and a 7 of clubs.
The 2 of diamonds and 2 of clubs would be your one pair in this case.
The probability of being dealt one pair in poker is 42.2569% or 1.366 : 1. There is a 49.9% that an opponent might have a one pair or a stronger poker hand if you are dealt one pair in a game of poker.
There are over a million ways to get one pair in poker, 1,098,240 to be more precise.
The probability that you will be dealt one pair in Texas Hold Em poker is 43.8%. The probability that your opponent might have at least a one pair or a stronger poker hand is 82.6% or a 8 in 10 chance.
#8 High Card in poker
Finally, the last and the weakest hand in poker is the high card.This hand is also called “no hand”. When both you and your opponents can’t form any poker card, the winner is decided by ranking the order of each player’s hand.
Let’s say there you are playing with two other players.
Your highest-ranking card is an Ace of spades and the second-highest-ranking card is a Queen of hearts.
One of your opponents doesn’t have an Ace so he loses. However the last opponent has an ace of hearts and the second highest ranking card he has is a 10 of clubs.
In this case, since your second card is higher than his you win the round.
There is a 50.1177% chance that you will be dealt a poker hand with no hands and have to rely on a high card at this point there is a 100% chance that your opponent also has this poker hand or stronger poker hand.
There is a lower chance of being dealt a poker hand with no hand or a high card. The chances that you will encounter a no hand poker hand in Texas Hold Em poker is 17.4%.
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